Action Comics Vol 1 58
| Appearing1 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * * Antagonists: * * Doctor Menace Other Characters: * George Fenton * Fred Chandler * Philip Minton * Sergeant Hennigson Locations: * ** *** ** *** | Writer2_1 = Don Cameron | Penciler2_1 = Mort Meskin | Inker2_1 = Charles Paris | StoryTitle2 = Vigilante: "The Dummy and the Dumbbell" | Synopsis2 = Inside the city prison, the Dummy, dangerous criminal mastermind, plots his escape with the help of his large new companion, Bobo. The air ducts are laced with laughing gas, making everybody in the the prison fall over in fits. Dummy and Bobo escape with handkerchiefs covering their mouths, the guards are unable to catch them. Later at the radio station, the Greg Sanders show is suddenly interrupted by a special news report. Stuff is listening to the radio at the time. He quickly heads to the studio and informs Greg as soon as he steps out. The prairie troubadour changes into his Vigilante outfit right away. The Dummy likes his loot in small packages, Greg reasons, so the Wholesale Jewelry District was the most likely place he'd strike first. Meanwhile, the Dummy has packed himself into a small box for his partner Bobo to deliver to the Jeweler's Exchange. The night watchman lets Bobo, dressed in a deliveryman's uniform, deliver the package to the men working upstairs. After five minutes have passed, the box opens and Dummy climbs out. He walks among the employees in a stiff gait, pretending to be a mechanical toy. The men are amused by this strange little "automated man". Their fun is short lived when the Dummy suddenly pulls out a hose and sprays them in the faces with knockout gas. He gathers the cut diamonds in his top hat, then jumps out the window where Bobo was waiting to catch him. The drop was hard and Bobo falls over in pain. The Dummy chastises his foolish partner just as Vigilante and the Chinatown Kid pull up on the Vig-Cycle. Vig catches the Dummy's leg in his lariat, but Bobo rushes to his aid. However, Bobo may be large, but he's also slow, and Greg uses that against him when he surprises him with a quick jab! Dummy uses the momentary distraction to cut himself loose and drop a smoke bomb between himself and the duo Vigilante and Stuff. He and Bobo escape by stealing the Vig-Cycle. That night in their hideout, the Dummy hatches a plan to get rid of his nemesis, the Vigilante, for good. Bobo says he wants no part of it, he was too afraid of the masked crimefighter. The Dummy lashes him with his cane, slinging verbal abuse at his cowardly cohort until Bobo admits that he was even more afraid of him than of Vigilante. So it is that Greg Sanders, known to be the only one who can get "in touch" with the Vigilante, receives a phone call from Bobo. The trembling lackey has had enough of the Dummy's abuse and wanted to help the Vigilante capture him. He gives Greg the location of the hideout. Vigilante and Stuff drive up to the small woodland cottage, fully expecting a trap. Bobo answers the door and guides them inside. Just as Greg and Stuff thought, as soon as they step into the center of the room, the floor drops out from under them. The Dummy appears peering over them. He gives Bobo a swift kick, sending the unsuspecting brute down into the pit as well. He has outlived his usefulness. A valve is turned, and water starts pouring into the trap room, as the Dummy seals the trapdoor. Greg glances around as Stuff and Bobo panic, when he notices a gas meter on the wall. He removes the casing and lets the fumes seep out. After telling Stuff and Bobo to dive under the water, Vig uses the spur on his boot to create a spark. The gas explodes, blowing off the sealed hatchway that the trio then use to escape. The Dummy is tracked down by Vigilante, who then allows Bobo to get his licks in first. Later, at the police station, Bobo turns himself in along with the wounded and humiliated Dummy. | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * * Bobo Locations: * ** Items: * Vigilante's Lasso Vehicles: * | Penciler3_1 = Louis Cazeneuve | Inker3_1 = Louis Cazeneuve | StoryTitle3 = Three Aces: "Double-X for the Axis" | Synopsis3 = The U.S. Aircraft carrier Roosevelt turns slowly into the wind to receive some planes returning from their mission. Gunner lands on the runway deck, but there isn't any sign of his friends Fog and Will. Sadly, he saw their planes get shot down by the enemy. Intelligence Officer Paulson calls Gunner inside to listen to a strange transmission. The voice on the other end is Will's. But he seemed to be praising the Nazis, saying they're misunderstood, that they aren't bad at all, in truth. A small fishing village on the coast of Norway plays host to the Nazi occupation. Whistler Will and Fog Fortune have been pretending to be model prisoners so they'd have freedom to move about the village. Off the shore, he and Fog spot the Nazi prized battleship, the Kaiser Wilhelm, as it is being prepared for raiding Allied convoys. Will comes up with a plan, and he whispers it to Fog as they head back to the radio room. A new announcement is made under Nazi supervision; Will talks about his walk along the harbor, comparing it to how peaceful it was that time in San Diego after the fleet has left. Fog jumps in, saying what a silly idea it was to send U.S. convoys across the pond. Back on the carrier, Gunner Bill listens to the broadcast in wonder. He knows there has to be some kind of hidden message... Then he got it! The day in San Diego when the fleet left, their convoys were all sunk by the Kaiser Wilhelm battleship. Will and Fog were saying that the Nazis were sending the Wilhelm to raid their convoys! Paulson grabs the phone to get in touch with the captain right away! Fog and Will have been busy, themselves. They have managed to locate the underground resistance forces, hidden away in one of the houses, and they recruit them to help with their plan. They sneak their way into the airport, just outside the village, and grab bags full of sugar, which they pour into the petrol tanks. This will have the effect of clogging the carburetors and feed pipes. What's more, sugar in the gas can catch fire! At that moment, the loudspeakers sound up; the Kaiser Wilhelm is being attacked by American planes! Simultaneously, another fighting squadron appears over the airport! The Nazi pilots climb into the cockpits of their fighters, but the engines spontaneously explode when they try to start them up. Meanwhile, Gunner joins in the attack against the Wilhelm. The battleship staggers under the bombardment until she can't take any more, and sinks beneath the sea. Though the air attack was successful, Gunner returns to the Roosevelt disheartened that he didn't find his pals during the assault. The carrier returns to the harbor in North Ireland, where a Norwegian fishing vessel moors itself at the same wharf. Gunner is delighted when Fog and Will step off the boat, having hitched a ride with some fishermen who wanted to escape the Nazis. And so the trio is reunited, ready to join together again for their next mission. | Appearing3 = Featured Characters: * ** ** ** Antagonists: * ** Hans Other Characters: * Commander Paulson * Helga Locations: * ** ** ** Vehicles: * U.S. Aircraft Carrier * Nazi Battleship * Navy Fighter Planes and Dive Bombers | Writer4_1 = Joseph Greene | Penciler4_1 = Bernard Baily | Inker4_1 = Bernard Baily | StoryTitle4 = Americommando: "The Brigade of the Biting Rabbit" | Synopsis4 = Tex Thompson, the Americommando, disguises himself as a prisoner at a nearby concentration camp. His goal is to free members of the French Resistance, so they can blow up a bridge that's part of the Nazi supply line. Coincidentally, Dr. Ito is currently acting as the camp's overseer, unaware that his enemy is right under his nose. As he moves inconspicuously from group to group, Tex finds others who are willing to join the resistance. Pretty soon, the entire camp is willing to follow the Americommando. All except one. A fellow named DeLapin wants nothing to do with fighting. The others give him the nickname of "the little rabbit" because of his strict pacifism. Despite his objections, the other prisoners carry on with Tex's plan. At midnight, a speeding car comes hurtling down a side road straight towards the camp's fence. A man from the French Resistance leaps from the vehicle before it crashes through! Americommando and the camp prisoners smash into the armory while the guards are distracted, grabbing all the weapons and ammo they can carry. DeLapin had no choice but to tag along now, for fear he'll be shot by the Nazis if he stays behind. Tex leads them to a hidden cache of dynamite. The group grabs the crates and heads for the bridge. Doctor Ito suspects the car was just a distraction and takes with him a few Nazi officers to follow the prisoners' trail. They arrive at the target bridge, just as Americommando finishes laying down the wire that connects the TNT to the plunger. But Dr. Ito cuts the line with his sword, just as the plunger is pushed! Only one chance left. Tex picks up a grenade and bids his fellows goodbye as he prepares to rush through the oncoming enemy. But then, DeLapin, the supposedly cowardly "little rabbit", finds his courage. He grabs the grenade from Tex and rushes towards the dynamite pile, the resistance watch the resulting explosion! The little rabbit is gone, having given his life to see the mission through. Later, deep in the hills, Americommando joins the others in a tribute to DeLapin. The resistance fighters tell Tex that they have decided to name their force the "Brigade of the Biting Rabbit", in honor of the little man who wasn't afraid to die. | Appearing4 = Featured Characters: * Antagonists: * ** ** General Schwindler *** Heinrich Other Characters: * Pierre * Jean * DeLapin Locations: * ** Occupied | Writer5_1 = | Penciler5_1 = Edwin J. Smalle, Jr. | Inker5_1 = Edwin J. Smalle, Jr. | StoryTitle5 = Congo Bill: "The Full-Dress Rebellion" | Synopsis5 = A scientific expedition in the deep Congo turns tragic when Dr. John Reid is shot. His daughter, Joan, screams when members of the Ojubi tribe step out of the jungle carrying rifles. She runs for her life,and they pursue. Congo Bill comes along in a canoe, and hears the gunshots, hurries to shore, and hunts for the trouble. He arrives at an overrun camp, taken over by the gun wielding natives, and one very scared white girl. Bill rushes into the scene, knocking native heads with his flying fists until they are knocked down for the count! Relieved that she won't be killed, Joan offers her thanks to her brave rescuer. Bill is troubled; he knew the Ojubi was an outlaw tribe, but until now, they never dared attack any white people before. The guns they carried were Mausers, a German model rifle. Swastikas on the armbands they wore cinched it; the Ojubi were being armed and stirred up by the Nazis! Bill threatens one of the fallen tribesman, getting him to reveal the location of the Nazi camp. Minutes later, Congo Bill and Joan Reid travel down the river to meet with the Ojubi chief, who knew Bill and was friendly with him. Together they should be able to sort all this out. As they near the main village, a herd of elephants are bathing at the river edge, so Bill and Joan decide to go the rest of the way on foot. The pachyderms probably wouldn't hurt them, but they could make a lot of noise if they were startled. They hike until the base camp is within sight. The next instant, the Ojubi tribe catches Bill and Joan in an ambush! Bill tells Joan to surrender calmly. The tribe will take them to Joru, the chief, and he and Bill can then settle things. But then he meets the new chief, who is actually Major Von Krump, a Nazi commander. The Major explains that the previous chief, Joru, didn't see eye to eye with him, and had to be eliminated. He is using the Ojubi tribe to kill every white person they see, to spread terror, and recruit other natives into an army large enough to raid all the way north to Egypt. Von Krump orders the tribesmen to burn Bill and Joan at the stake! Bill makes his next desperate move by nabbing one of the rifles off a native and aiming it past the Major and the others. He fires at a stack of gunpowder crates, causing an earth shaking explosion! The reverberations startle the elephants at the river, causing them to stampede towards the campsite! Amid the resulting chaos, Bill helps Joan up into a tree, then joins her, as the charging beasts flatten all in their way, including the Nazi Major, who is trampled by the great beasts. Later, as the Ojubi return to what remains of the camp, much wiser now that the Nazi chief is dead, they ask if Bill would lead them. Congo Bill declines their offer, saying he needed to help Joan get back to civilization. He promises to return and help them if they want to wage war on the Nazis, who lied to them. Back in the canoe, Bill and Joan paddle down the river. She only wishes he could have saved her father too. Bill reminds her that Dr. Reid didn't die in vain. His death helped save the lives of countless others. | Appearing5 = Featured Characters: * Antagonists: * ** Major Von Krump * Ojubi Tribe Other Characters: * Dr. John Reid * Joan Reid Locations: * ** | Writer6_1 = Gardner Fox | Penciler6_1 = Joseph Sulman | Inker6_1 = Joseph Sulman | StoryTitle6 = Zatara: "The Seven Year Itch" | Synopsis6 = A small circus springs up in town. Zatara visits his friend Dot, a trapeze performer who also fancies herself an amateur detective. She is very suspicious of the sideshow barker, Willie Walker. All the mystery books she's read makes her think that Willie isn't making all his money just from the circus. The money he flashes around, plus his shiny new limousine, makes her suspicious. Zatara doesn't tell her, but he also thinks it's odd. Meanwhile, Willie sits in his limo putting together a strange gun that had a canister attached. It's itching powder, irritating enough to drive a person crazy. The limo stops in front of a bank, Willie gets out, with his spray gun, lying to the security guard that he was a "fumigating demonstrator". He is let in where the bank president and some others were discussing their deposits. After a spritz of powder, they begin itching uncontrollably. The biting, scratching, teasing itch drives them all half-mad, unable to do anything about it as Willie just helps himself to the contents of the vault. Later, he returns to his trailer to give his boys their cut. Two crooked men have been tipping Willie off to any banks with low security. After they get their payment, one of them thinks they should move in on the itching powder idea themselves, cutting Willie out of the deal. Late in the evening, as the rest of the performers were retiring for the day, Dot sneaks into Willie's trailer. She finds several canisters full of itching powder. Dot locates Zatara and tells him that Willie was the Itch Thief from the news! The magician had just heard another flash bulletin about the thief striking a factory tonight. But when they peer through Willie's bedroom window, they find him sleeping peacefully. Zatara casts a spell to make him fly to the factory; maybe he can still pick up the thieves' trail. He finds the factory workers itching like mad. Water spouts appear out of thin air, dousing the men and giving them sweet relief. When the last of the itching powder is washed away, Zatara asks the workers about the robber. Unfortunately nobody can identify him, because he was wearing a mask. So Zatara uses less conventional means to find the culprit, by enchanting the telephone poles to speak, and having them reveal the direction the crook went. The master magician soon finds two criminals in a car, bragging about the robbery. He blows the lid off the car, and the wind causes the itch powder to scatter. The crooks stomp on the brakes and exit the vehicle screaming for water. Zatara obliges them by making two barrels-full appear for them to jump into. They reveal with little resistance that Willie Walker thought up the triple power itching powder scheme, they were just trying to cut him out of the deal. Back at the circus, Dot was still practicing her 'sleuthing' skills. As Willie gets into his car, she stealthily hitches a ride in the backseat. What she doesn't realize is that Willie noticed her in the rear view mirror, deciding to allow her to follow him. He steps into an apartment building, and when Dot goes in after, Willie was waiting for her! Failing to find Willie at his trailer, Zatara floats over the city for a higher vantage point. That's how he finds Dot, dangling from a flagpole at the top of a building. The pole snaps under her weight and she falls! Zatara shouts a spell, making a tightrope appear beneath her. From there, Dot just needs to remember her training and walk it to safety. Together, they chase after Willie Walker's trail, until they see him berating his ex-henchmen for stealing his powder gun. Zatara and Dot confront him, and Zatara magically animates the itch powder canister, which sprays Willie with its contents. Then his own car attacks him, pummeling him with its fender-turned-fist. As soon as the police show up, Willie and the other criminals are more than happy to be going to jail. As for Dot, she is through playing detective, and tosses her book away. The very thought of a mystery now made her skin itch. | Appearing6 = Featured Characters: * Antagonists: * Willie Walker Other Characters: * Dot | Notes = * Published by Detective Comics, Inc. * The Face of Adonis is reprinted in . | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links =* Read "The Brigade of the Biting Rabbit" online }}